Mimiking a Design and the Prosses

Today Halloween is about mimicking someone or something that your not, just for day. As we decide upon an idea of what to be for Halloween it seems easy to just flock to the stores and grab a costume right off the rack. By selecting a costume from some rack that has multiplied and not an original seems pointless. Isn’t the preparation of the costume one of the greatest parts about Halloween? Although it is time consuming and tedious at moments, just to wear it for one evening it’s the effort that counts. To be able to redesign yourself into anything is the best part about dressing-up.

Well this Halloween Ashley and I had two things in Mind, Thing One and Thing Two. Do you remember Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat? As we grow up we sometimes seem to lose our selves in everyday life, forgetting about our childhood memories. Although we can Google costumes for Thing One and Thing Two, it’s not the same feeling to dress up and portray these story book characters. In Dr. Seuss’s story books we stumble upon many strange and peculiar characters however Thing One and Thing Two are quite the eye-catcher. As we can see they are drawn wearing plain red jumpsuits with only a circular shape on the chest presenting their names Thing One and Thing Two. Another symbol that represents these to is there vivid blue hair, creating a contrast in colors by using blue and red within the same composition.

While thinking about how we were going to portray these unique characters it became apparent to Ashley (Thing Two) and I (Thing One) that the original Thing One and Thing Two were a little boyish. So we decided to design a more girlish look incorporating all the visual elements of these things. Because jumpsuits seemed too frumpy we used little plain red dresses that zipped up the front. Along with the dresses we choose red and white striped socks playing off of the iconography of the Cat in the Hat. But the costume still seemed too plain and incomplete; a plain red dress did not emphasis Thing One and Thing Two, we could have been anything. Now that we had our items of clothing it was time to mimic the famous icon that represented the main focal point of the characters. We placed a large white circle with the letters T-H-I-N-G and either the number 1 or 2 on the chest area of the dresses. Almost done we were missing one aspect to our reinvented Thing One and Thing Two design, BLUE hair. Even though the original characters in Dr. Seuss have wild bed head hair we were looking for a more modern look such as, bright brilliant blue bob wigs (Say that five times fast), thus bringing Thing One and Thing Two into the 21^st century.

After all of the thinking, designing, planning, and preparation of Thing One and Thing Two we were finally the complete package. By redesigning Dr. Seuss’s story book characters it seemed as if we were the real Thing One and Thing Two asking everyone, “Would you like to shake hands with Thing One and Thing Two?” (Dr. Seuss).

Quilting

It is said that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. In comparison this also can be said about the quilts that are displayed in the Nelson Art Gallery at UC Davis. These hand made quilts all express uniquely different feelings and emotions when viewed. Their illuminating arrangement and organization of colors and patterns is by far breath taking. As one looks at the quilts it becomes apparent that they more than just a combination of fabric, they are crafted carefully expressing different passions throughout each one. Because these quilts are crafted from scrap materials and textiles they are not perfect or exactly precise in measurements. But isn’t that what makes them unique and exuberant? While closely examining the quilts it is easy to pick up on certain pattern schemes such as repetition of block patterns and the placement of certain elements. However the use of contrasting colors is what really gives these quilts a sense of rhythm. By using wide arranges of value colors combined with contrasting and complimentary colors the quilts display movement and structure throughout the composition. Although the quilts are symmetrical creating an over baring repetition, the color schemes and difference in pattern structure is what brings them to life. Thus, keeping us captured within the design of them. Even though manufacturing perfect produces is the way our society functions and hand made quilt are a dyeing pastime, does not mean that we should look at their flaws. Instead we can learn from the craft of using only scraps to create a masterpiece. With this in mind by producing original patterns and fluidity of expression, in the end will be more personal and a creative design in general.